Sewing and Crochet

I've found a few good sewing a crochet tid bits so I'm linking back. I'm going to have some fun this weekend.

Everything you Mumma Made and More 64+ girls tutes

The Mother Huddle Ruby Dress

Skip to My Lou 10 crochet flowers

Crochet Cabana everything crochet including borders

Crochet Geek everything crochet

and my favorite crochet site ever

Attic 24 blanket border



Until next time... Naomi

Happy Mother's Day 2013

Chloe was very excited about Mother's Day this year. All week she talked about it and counted down the days until she could give her grandma and Nana their present. She made no mention of any present for me and was very secretive. It was very cute.

Mother's day morning rolled around and I got very spoilt. Chloe made me pancakes in bed (with a little help from Daddy) and she gave me some gorgeous Minnie mouse PJ's  (which is very 4 year old of her),  earrings, flowers and a beautiful I Love You plaque with a poem that she chose from pre-school. The preschool really surprised me, they had a mothers day stall with pretend money and each child got to "buy" a present of their choosing for their mum. They put it in a special box they had decorated and inside was a smaller box with love inside and sealed with a kiss, never to be opened. It was so sweet and because Michael collected her on the day they made it I had no idea. Chloe was very proud of herself and that was why she was so excited all week. God love her she's so sweet. For lunch we went to an Italian restaurant and we just enjoyed the relaxing and eating. Of course the best gift for any mother is her children and I'm no different. It was a wonderful day and I have a wonderful, thoughtful and considerate daughter(helped along by her Daddy with the same qualities and a few friends at pre-school). Thank you to all involved.

Chloe giving me my gifts. I'll save you the delight of my morning head!

My pressies

My favorite gift, I cried.

Chloe and I

My mum and I

I also want to say Happy Mother's Day to my Mum too, who I have come to appreciate more than she or anyone, will ever know.

Until next time... Naomi

Sew: Crochet Hook Purse and Needle Book

On the weekend I made these two little numbers from one of the library books, Sew Darn Cute.   I needed somewhere to store hooks and needles and these seemed easy and turned out perfect. I adjusted them slightly to suit my needs. I'm very happy with the way they turned out. Although the instructions were not that accurate or easy to follow. Maybe it was me. I love this strawberry and cherry fabric.

plenty of space

 

I added a little birdie surprise inside

Felt needle holder how simple at effective. It took less than half an hour to complete.

I added a little pocket for the needle threader

It's so cute

And by fluke it fits into the large pocket that I made a bit bigger than the book suggested.

 

Until next time... Naomi

Our Weekend: 6.5.13

We had a busy weekend. Ventured to the library, Cobbity Markets, Pottery Barn, had dinner with family, did some sewing, cooking, cleaning and spent some time together.

Sewing followed my library book choices, gee I love the library.

Lots of reading came from Chloe's library book choices

Chloe hung out with(aka hassled) Indiana

roses from our garden

our winter vege patch is coming along nicely, beets, spinach broccoli and lettuce to name a few

I made an easy and very tasty chicken and leek lasagna for dinner last night

Until next time... Naomi

Pottery Barn and Co Experience

So I’ve been busting to shop at Pottery Barn for at least 7 years. I don’t know how I found the US website but once I did, I was in love. I bought the books, I trawled the website for inspiration and I posted pics to my blog, fantasizing about living in such a beautiful space. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to be visiting the first store to be launched outside the US. One in my home town, Sydney.

Michael bless him agreed to take me even though shopping isn’t his favourite thing, he drove the hour to Bondi, braved the crowds and pushed Chloe around while I looked, squealing in my element. Constantly saying “Michael, look at this!” “ohhh, Michael look at that!”. He even let me buy a couple of things for “Mummies Day” and to top it all off he gave them to me early. Bless.

So how did I find the experience? Well Pottery Barn was very busy, in fact all four stores including West Elm, Pottery Barn Kids and Williams-Sonoma were very busy. We first ventured into Pottery Barn as I was dying to get in there. It’s a beautiful store, a visual feast for the eyes. The merchandising and styling are second to none really, it was wonderful. Michael was even very impressed. The staff were polite, but the shoppers not so, I guess that came down to a small store with lots of people inside. Yes the store is very small. I was expecting something around the standard sized Freedom store but it was more like a quarter of the size. I felt it was very small for such a large range of products and that did disappoint me. I feel they need to extend up a floor and put the PBK on another floor. This would double the space for both and make it more worthwhile for someone like me who has to travel a fair distance to get there.



$15

Pottery Barn stocks some amazing products and some products are similar to things we can already get here.  Some are very reasonably priced like the lantern above and others are quite expensive. For example for a similar look you can get this couch in white from Ikea for $400.

 

or this one from Pottery Barn for $2000.



Yes the quality is better and you certainly don’t have to put the arms on it yourself but at the end of the day I guess you can have a similar look for less or more depending on your budget. I would say that the average couch costs around $2000 so it’s in line with Australian standards. The pricing is very like Freedom, maybe a tad dearer for the couches. Actually I found that if you crossed Pottery Barn style with the West Elm style you kinda have a Freedom store but with much better quality and styling. Yes the furniture at Pottery Barn is very high quality, real timber, dove tails joins and all that. Investment pieces. They had gorgeous linen bedding, napeiry, beautiful platters and giant sized cushions, it exudes casual luxe and I was so over whelmed by actually being inside a Pottery Barn I didn’t buy a single thing. How’s that for form. They had also run out of many decorator items and the website is not stocking those either. These were things I had seen other woman buy a couple of days earlier, things I wanted and could afford but couldn’t get. Disappointing.

Pottery Barn kids is gorgeous, with beautiful products for the kids. Chloe loved the play kitchen and dolls house and they have beautiful bedding. Again it is very small and I know they have an extensive range of goods so it could be better. It’s pricey for kids but gorgeous.

This stunning kitchen even has a timer, so sweet.



Chloe loved this dolls house

Next we moved onto West Elm, I didn’t know what to expect really and I was very happily surprised. The store is gorgeous and felt bigger than PB, it also seemed a little cheaper. Quilt covers were about $119 which is average for the same quality in Australia. They also have this gorgeous white cast iron pot for $89 a bargain, as a Le Creuset one in WS next door is the standard $420. I splashed out and bought a very expensive (by my standards) cushion from West Elm for $75 but she is beautiful and the down inside is amazing. It fluffs itself back up to its beautiful looking self as soon as you move your weight from it. I guess sometimes you really do get what you pay for.



$89 pot

 

$119 quilt cover which I want



Loved this pouffe but no where to put it, costs just over $300



cute vases from $8

 

Williams – Sonoma the kitchen store didn’t really do it for me that much but it was even more crowded than PB and that turned me off. I would like to go back and have another look with less people. It’s a foodies store for sure. I’m not a foodie per say.

So overall we were there for two hours, it was lots of fun, a fest for our eyes, I’m glad we went, I’m very happy to be able to go again, I do wish I had of bought a couple more small things, things they don’t have on the website (bummer). I am hoping that they will expand the website and the store.  If you’re going to go, take your wallet, with money inside, it’s a journey and one I’m grateful to be able to do again. Oh and if you're not at work go on a Monday or Tuesday morning not a Saturday.

My purchases from West Elm. I ended up preferring WE on the day, I just did even though PB is more my style. 

Until next time... Naomi

Pottery Barn Excitement

So it's happened, Pottery Barn has opened it's doors in Sydney and I AM SO EXCITED, it's ridiculous!  I haven't had the pleasure of getting over there as yet, which tears a little at my heart but I'm going on the weekend. If you used to read the old blog then you would know I was always posting Pottery Barn images, drooling over their products and hoping to try and copy some of their style. I would browse the website often, I even have Pottery Barn decorating books! I used to be so envious and even looked up whether there was one in Hawaii knowing I would go there before ever going to mainland USA. To my surprise I recently noticed that you could ship to Australia and I was beside myself with excitement. Needless to say I have made few orders since then. A couple of months ago I heard Williams Sonoma was coming and I nearly peed my pants with excitement. Trilling and pointing at the TV, Michael thought I had lost my mind! So now it's happened and I just have to get my butt over there on Saturday, probably with the rest of Sydney! It's OK I'll tackle the crowds and I know I'll go be back even before my first visit. Oh and everyone knows Ikea's my favourite store but price dependant Pottery Barn is going to definitely give them a run for their money. I just know it, especially when I'm only really shopping deco items these days. Oh happy days! Oh happy days! Imagine me singing that... yes I'm singing, oh happy days!

Until next time... Naomi

Cool Blog, Store and caravan

http://www.kararosenlund.com/blog/

How cool are these people.

until next time... Naomi

Home

How come I can love this so much...

Bang Bang

and this...

Beachcomber

 They're like chalk and cheese but I love them both.

Until next time... Naomi

Home: Style

For years I've been trying to pin down what to call my decorating style. I've finally come up with a name for it. Are you ready...

Pretty Beach Vintage

Yep that's it.

Until next time... Naomi

Home: Something's happening...

I'm starting to really like some of the country styles out there, I'm more of a beach girl but I really like these country images over at Country Style Chic she finds some amazing ones and I'm really drawn to them.

original picture from greigedesign

Until next time... Naomi

The Next Chapter

So last week I mentioned that our last IVF was unsuccessful. Not much else to say, we were more than prepared for that outcome. Life can be crap sometimes you can be going down one path and then a left turn comes, you don't want to go left but you have to. That's life. Keeping things in perspective we are more than blessed to have our beautiful daughter Chloe. MORE THAN BLESSED! Onwards I say.

 

Here she is being Delta Goodram from our version on The Voice. Daddy is Seal. Yeah I see Seal!

 

In light of that chapter of our lives being over, we have decided to plan a trip. We are looking at Hawaii right now. It's pretty expensive but we both want to go and Michael suggested taking Chloe before she starts big school next year. The Australian government sure know how to hit a person hard with the passports $234 each and $119 for Chloe. Wowsa! More on Hawaii later.

Until next time... Naomi

ANZAC

Take a moment today to think of all the soldiers who protect your country today and have done so in the past. Lest we forget.


Until next time... Naomi

Sew: Fabric Love

Got me some new fabrics.

Yummy kiddie numbers for some softies and some just because I liked it. As you do.

couldn't resist the circus theme at $6 a meter reduced from $20

girlie gorgeousness...probably to make "things" for Chloe

Until next time... Naomi

Cosmo

Wow it's Wednesday already.

15 years ago a little lost kitten walked past my house just in time for me, the cat rescuer to see her. She stayed, she ate and she kicked some serious dog arse but unfortunately last night I had to put her to sleep. Dementure had touched her and she was crying all the time, through most for the night and half the day. It was best for everyone, she was distressed, we were not sleeping. It was as very hard decision and one I didn't take lightly but was ultimately unavoidable. She was a funny little cat, often pesky and uncuddly but she was kind and gentle.

Cosmo a couple of weeks ago

 

Until next time... Naomi

Simple Living: home made laundry liquid

Over the weekend I didn't do much. I made laundry liquid and crocheted. I didn't do a scrap of cleaning, I made a trip to the fabric store and ate lots of Easter eggs that are still abundant in our house. All in all it was very chilled.

Riveting laundry liquid pictures will be included be warned. 

A couple of months back I bought a book Down to Earth. In the book she outlines laundry liquid making among other gems. Originally I made a trial 2 litre batch. I found it cleans no differently than commercial cleaners. I still use some napisan on the very bad stains and pre-school paint but for general washing it's fab, no pun intended! It's a very simple recipe. Similar ones are online.
 

the boiling starts

the colour changes

and thickening occurring

some bottled and ready

I made the 10 litre batch this time and it took me no time at all. It's a bit thicker than the first time so I will add more water to the next batch but it's fine and costs 80c for two litres. Beat that price! Yep 80c! Thank you Rhonda.

Until next time... Naomi

IVF Update

So I was scheduled to do our last IVF  transfer on Friday but it just wasn't meant to be. I got a call Thursday afternoon to say that our embryo had not survived the thawing process. We are devastated as you can imagine but I have to think this is what's right for us. I said to God if this last one doesn't work out then I will accept graciously that this is what is meant for us. That's what I intend to do. I would have loved another baby but imagine if I had no baby that would be a real heart ache.  So I say thank you God for chloe and for the fact she is healthy and clever and all the wonderful things she is... now it's time to move forward.

Chloe corker

I'm hungry. I'm the King of starvation!

Baby: Nursery

I haven't done a baby post for ages but with my IVF transfer coming up this Friday (oh yeah I forgot to mention it's this Friday) I am all about the baby right now. This may be my last chance to indulge in my love of all things baby so I'm going to. I love nurseries and looking at them. Designing them in my head. I would love to be a nursery designer or at least design nurseries for my friends and family. Some people just don't see the importance of a nursery but I feel it's an important part of the baby preparation process. I've been collecting items I love for a nursery on Etsy and on pinterest.

Here is a beautiful nursery that I am loving right now from Nest Design Studio. It fits in with what I have been conjuring up in my head for a girl baby. I LOVE the wall paper and I've had my eye on the cube shelves for a while. The rest of the images of this beautiful nursery can be seen on the blog.

Here's a couple of grabs of Etsy treasuries I've made just for my baby girls nursery. You can see why I love this room right.

Until next time... Naomi

thrifty: Link up with - Blackbird Has Spoken

I just found this cool blog, a lady after my own heart finding some way cool op shop finds and having a linky party for other people doing the same. I love the name since I sing black bird to Chloe most nights before she goes to sleep.

Blackbird Has Spoken

If you like the odd op shop go and check it out.

Until next time... Naomi

Chloe: Dress Ups at Pre-school

It's dress ups week at pre-school. Of course my girl was super excited about it. Day 1 she chose to be a fairy. Day 2 she went as a princess. She has many dress ups but these two were the ones she went with.



She has sparkles in her hair, wings on her back and a wand but that's not pictured.

Until next time... Naomi

Our Weekend: 15.4.13

This past weekend there was lots of relaxing and spending time together. We took Chloe to the library. It was my first time in about twenty years and I had a ball. Chloe and I borrowed a few books and I became a member. I can't wait to go back. I was planning on buying a few of the books but now I can borrow them instead. Awesome! Chloe and I met my mum and aunt for lunch at the local art gallery. Chloe got to see the koi pond which was very much enjoyed. Chloe also got her hair cut professionally for the first time. Finally she let our hairdresser do it. The hairdresser also braided it for her and it looked so sweet. That hurdle's over, now if we could only get that pesky 4 year old immunisation out of the way!

Chloe's face says it all about how much she was enjoying the koi pond

Getting her hair cut

An indulgent selfie of Cleopatra herself. My new do.

Chloe and I...gotta love the filters on instagram

 Even our dogs got clipped. Here they try to warm up a bit.

Chloe with her new softie Lucy

I made Lucy from a pattern in one of the library books. My first attempt at embroidery. I also made a door stop.

I cooked as usual. Yummy mashed potatoe on top of this mince equals cottage pie.

Until next time... Naomi